Kacy Cullen

D. Kacy Cullen is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Bioengineering (with tenure) at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He serves as Principal Investigator at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia and holds multiple leadership positions including Director of the Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration & Restoration at the VA Medical Center, Director of the Translational Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine Fellowship Program, and Director of the Porcine Neurointensive Care and Assessment Facility.

Dr. Cullen's educational background includes:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology (2000)
• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology (2002)
• Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology (2005)

Dr. Cullen's research program operates at the intersection of three complementary fields: Regenerative Medicine, Neural Engineering, and Neurotrauma. In Regenerative Medicine, his lab focuses on novel biofabrication strategies for tissue engineered brain and spinal cord pathways as well as "living scaffolds" for neuroregeneration. His Neural Engineering work develops "biohybrid" neuroprosthetic interface technology and enables synaptically-based neuromodulation. In Neurotrauma research, he applies engineering principles to understand causative mechanisms and pathophysiological responses following traumatic injury to the nervous system, with specific attention to neural injury biomechanics.

Analysis of Dr. Cullen's recent publications reveals a strong focus on tissue-engineered neural constructs for repairing nervous system injuries. His work spans from fundamental research on neural injury mechanisms to translational applications of tissue engineering for nerve repair, spinal cord injury, and Parkinson's disease. A notable trend is the development of "living scaffolds" and "biohybrid" neural interfaces that combine biological and engineered components. His research increasingly incorporates large animal models, particularly swine, to enhance translational relevance.

Dr. Cullen's laboratory has received significant funding from multiple prestigious sources including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the University Research Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania. He directs the Translational Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine (T-TERM) Fellowship Program, which is jointly supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Cullen leads the Cullen Lab, which operates the Porcine Neurointensive Care and Assessment Facility (NCAF) at the Perelman School of Medicine. His lab applies biomedical engineering principles toward understanding neural injury mechanisms and developing neural tissue engineering-based treatments. The lab maintains active collaborations with multiple research centers including the Penn Center for Brain Injury & Repair, the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, the Institute of Regenerative Medicine, and the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics.